Ollantaytambo Ruins

Day 4: April 12, 2013, 8:12 PM

Today was the best day so far!

We got up, had breakfast, and walked over to the Ollantaytambo ruins. Bought our Boletos Turisticos and we were on our way!

The ruins were SUPER COOL. There were hardly any other tourists at that time, so we went at our own pace and really enjoyed it. 

There was a man working at the Templo del Sol (also known as the Wall of the Six Monoliths) who explained a bunch of stuff in Spanish, about the importance and significance of the templo del sol. Seeing the six monoliths was one of the main draws for me to this area of the world, and I can't really describe what it felt like to finally see them, touch them, and just stand in their presence.

Me and Adam at the Templo del Sol (Wall of Six Monoliths) at Ollantaytambo

One thing that struck me is that they are not as big as they look on TV. This was disappointing. I expected them to look bigger in real life. Not that they're small by any measure, just not as convincingly "of alien origin" as I had hoped (my archaeologist friend, Julia, will be proud of my conclusions). I went around the left side of the monoliths and here is what I had to say:

And some more photographic evidence:

That's me at the top. The ruins look bigger with me up there.

And here's my view from the top. So the wall is not that thick.

So, we hiked all over and thought we had seen it all by about 10:00 am. But then, we discovered this whole other part! There were all kinds of blocks, and things carved into the mountainside like a miniature model of the whole place. I tried to go out to this thing that looked like a throne that was carved perfectly out of the mountainside, but got yelled at by some workers. 

Getting yelled at as I tried to make my way to the throne for a picture. Oops.

At least they were nice, and redirected us the right way and we saw even more cool stuff. 

At the end, Adam captured this panoramic of me with the scope of the ruins in the background:

We went to Heart's Cafe for lunch. It was good again (I had the same thing as yesterday). We ran into some of the same people (they must all be having the same idea as us: if it doesn't make you sick, keep going back!). One such couple we had met the day before were from Los Angeles. We chatted for a little while, and the woman said she had been having stomach problems every day, and that she'd been brushing her teeth using the tap water. Apparently they booked their trip on a whim and must not have done much research. 

We stopped at the market today, as it was just between the ruins and Heart's Cafe. I bought a handmade cow hat for my friend Tonya's son. This was my first experience in a South American market, where you negotiate prices. I think I did pretty well. I paid 12 soles instead of the 20 she was asking. And I did it all in Spanish!

After all of that, we went back to Hostal Iskay to rest. We just kind of sat around trying to figure out what to do. We wanted to go to Moray and Maras but it seemed like the taxi was going to be more than we wanted to pay so we skipped it for now. 

I was craving pasta so bad (and really missing my regular visits to Noodles & Co.) so we tried to walk to a place recommended in the Lonely Planet Peru guide called Cafe Maru. It said it was located on the train platform, so I knew it would be a long walk, but pasta is pasta!

Well, the walk was WAS long and tiring, and we never found it. The walk back was even more difficult and I was feeling the effects of the altitude once again. We ended up eating at Huacatay again (the restaurant below our hostal), sharing a plate of fries and an Inka Kola. 

After that we talked to a girl who works here at Hostal Iskay. She doesn't speak English and is probably 18 years old. She was super nice and helpful, and patient with my Spanish. We asked her about getting a driver for tomorrow to go to Pisac, Moray, and the salt flats at Maras. She got us someone for $75 for all of that, so we said yes and will leave tomorrow at 7:00 am. I'm excited!

My dad called tonight, but otherwise we haven't talked to anyone at home except by text today.